Look what happened last night

 Just a little pre-graduating gathering for our DIL Amy....

Not everyday a Mom of 7 and a Grandma of 7, graduates from college.

It was not an easy road, all that studying while doing everything else she does. Yet, she was at the top of her class!


Amy just got accepted into nursing school. She begins in January. Onward and upward!

I've said all along, Amy would make an excellent nurse!

She's always had the people skills, and in two more years she will have that diploma too!

PS. May 19, 1973 has always been a very special day to me. The day I met Bill, my first husband. Exactly 50 years later, on the same night, our Amy graduates from college. 






Betty and Gaynor

 My Mom's best friend Betty from back in the day, is in her 90s now.


She had been living in her own home, 
the very home her husband built shortly after they got married.

But she broke her femur bone, and life got a lot harder. 

Betty misses all "the girls" who use to care for her in her home.
But she says they all come to visit her. 


Even the one who was afraid of the dark and would wake up Betty when she fell asleep because she was scared to be alone.

She's been to a few facilities since her accident, 
but she seems to like this one the best.

It's a nice home in a very quaint neighborhood.

Four other women besides Betty. 
One is 105. The other three also went to Betty and Mom's high school, Roosevelt. 

She sits by that window each day at 3pm to watch "the avalanche of Moms" who walk by to get their kids from Cole Elementary nearby.

Betty loves to bake and the caregivers let her make brownies. 
She stirs them from her wheel chair. 

She use to cook for "the girls" in her home from her walker. 

She's a sweetheart.
No wonder Mom loved her so.


She said growing up she lived in a shack with her parents and sister.
So when a boy would give her a ride home 
from school she would give my Mom's address. 

Then after the boy left, my Grandpa Earl would drive Betty home.
I always knew my Grandpa was a kind soul.



Today Betty told us about one of her grandsons who is an artist.
When I got home I looked him up on Facebook and discovered my 
niece Carly was on his friends list.

So I texted Carly in Hawaii to ask how she knows him.



So there you have it. 
While Mom and Betty kept their regular lunch dates through the 
years, little did they know their grandkids knew each other. 



I think Betty and Gaynor were more like sisters. 

It's all about paying attention

 With all their bags packed and ready to go....



...the last day McKay and McKenna were here was a Sunday, 
So we got to watch their zoom church with them. 


One of the speakers said growing up she heard her Dad say this often:  

"If there is any genius, it's being aware of what you're doing." 


I thought back to 1999 when Den and I were planning to get married.  He said he wanted to have a home without sarcasm. 

I remember my first thought was, really, is that even possible? 


I did a blog post about about it here, 11 years after that decision.

(The comments left on that post were particularly interesting.)


Makes me wonder, 

What else should I pay attention to that I could be doing differently?

Ever since Den took over folding all the laundry three years ago, he has evolved with it.

He now folds our washcloths like this:


They don't fall over now as they are more balanced.
Sometimes it's the little things.
Sometimes it's the big things.







Their passions!

 I asked Scarlett (9), Annie (7), and Jack (3) what they are passionate about. Cousin Violet (12) joins in.

My favorite part is the very end!



He's got it!

McKay was worried about all the darts going by his little boy. 

So he moved him to higher ground and then look what happens. 

But I don't get where he learned that victory arm. He's only three.


Jacko scores! from Jill Shelley on Vimeo.

Jack's chosen hiding place

 So it happened like this.....

They were sitting together on the couch just being themselves. 

(The couch pictures were actually taken after the fact, so let's just call these pictures a reenactment.) 










Suddenly as often happens with kids, Jack's head dove into Annie's face. She's fine now but at the time I could tell it really hurt as she cried quickly and loudly.

It apparently scared Jack because I saw him practically fly out of the room and down the hall. We got some quick ice for Annie, 

and told Scarlett and cousin Violet to go look for him. 

They came back saying he was no where. 

I said I saw him run down the hall so he's got to be there! I sent them back to look under all the beds and in the closets. 

Finally I heard one of them yell back, 

"We found him! He's hiding behind the toilet." 

Huh? What? How can he fit behind a toilet?

So the new patient and I had to see this. I got my camera ready and we went down the hall. I meant to take a picture. But instead, I unknowingly hit video and had no idea I was filming. 

So it's upside down. 

But he looks so sadly sweet hiding behind the toilet. 

Whoever said childhood was easy. 



Jack dearly loves his big sisters. 

Such big emotions for a little guy 
who thought he hurt one of them.


Here are the "Mumba Bars" I was talking about in the video. 
At least I don't call them "Melanoma Bars" like McKay does.

Even "Melona" sounds like a condition rather than a dessert.


They all had another one after breakfast the morning they left. 


They're on a cruise now. 
So excited to get this picture yesterday!


Clark, who?

I just gave them some art supplies, and said make what you want.




I found it curious when Annie said she made "Clark." 



I thought, Clark who??
No explanation, she just said Clark.
(like grandmas are suppose to know these things)


I must have looked confused, so then Scarlett offered, 
"Lewis and Clark"

Ohhh, of course!
But how do they know about Lewis and Clark?

Then both Annie and Scarlett said their mom taught them. 
What a great mom teaching them history! 

Jack (age 3) was standing there listening to the conversation

Then suddenly he decided to make something.
He wasn't interested until just then. 


Then he proudly showed me this and said, 


"Here are the twins, Lewis and Clark!" 

😂😂😂

Good job Jacko!

I wonder if he got the twin idea from recently seeing his cousins, Jonas and Téa?





What treasures they made that day!


I'm still wearing the bracelet.
Thank you girls! ❤️

Look what happened last night

  Just a little pre-graduating gathering for our DIL Amy.... Not everyday a Mom of 7 and a Grandma of 7, graduates from college. It was not ...